


Faded Heaven

by I_Love_Fandoms



Category: Portal (Video Game), Slime Rancher (Video Game)
Genre: Emotional Baggage, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Non-human characters, song inspired fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:01:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23368132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Love_Fandoms/pseuds/I_Love_Fandoms
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Faded Heaven

_ Where are you now?  _

_ I'm faded _

_ I'm faded _

_ So lost _

_ I'm faded _

  
  
  
  


It's been months since she caught the little core falling from the sky, just moments before he would've ended up landing in the water, which would’ve been bad. He had already been in poor shape from entering the atmosphere, pieces of him missing and other parts melted together, not to mention that he had been offline. Since she had no idea about his design nor materials used in his design, Ellie had done her best to make repairs, using her knowledge from the drones she has built and the other various gadgets dotting her farm. Getting her hands on metal wasn’t hard, she just refined some rock plorts to get their legendary blue steel, famous for being stronger than titanium but lighter than plastic. Finding an energy source was a piece of cake as well, with the numerous phosphor plorts she had readily available, she simply had to build in the engine and give him the ability to pick up the phosphor plorts himself. Though she figured that it would take  _ years _ before he even had to worry about recharging.

The chips, however, had been a challenge. Most of them had understandably been fried from his trip down to the surface of the Far Far Range, but her gut refused to let her toss them away. With some help from her friends, the scientist Viktor Humphries and well-known Mochi Miles, she had managed to get the chips repaired and refitted into the little core, or orb as she had simply called him then. Ellie had been taking care of her ranch when her new future friend had woken up, and she got to learn his name. She had thought then, and she still did honestly, that Wheatley was an adorable name, and it hadn’t taken her long to start nicknaming him Wheats. He hadn’t objected to it, in fact, she could’ve sworn that his blue eye became a little brighter when she gave him the nickname, and it had been adoring. Ellie also took pride in her forward-thinking in giving him a similar mobility system as her drones, as the sight of Wheatley so happy to move freely on his own without having to rely on being carried almost made it seem like he’d light up like a blue star at any moment.

The memory pulled a smile from the hybrid coupled with a soft purr, and it was with a skip in her step that she slung her vac-gun over her shoulder, prepared to head back home to the ranch. A trip to the glass desert had been necessary, as only there could her ground drills get glass shards, something she needed to make a new glass sculpture to decorate her home. She was planning on making a rather small sculpture this time, maybe of her new friend that she had come to treasure, and put it in the kitchen where she can see it every day. The thought of doing that, and in turn surprising Wheatley made her colors glow a little brighter, her crystals hum a little louder, and she could no longer keep from skipping her way over to the portal that would bring her home. It certainly was in time too, as the fiery color spreading across the sky was the telltale sign of an incoming firestorm, and while it wouldn’t harm her that badly, she didn’t want to worry her friend. It would also most likely ruin the glass shards she has collected, so she hurried through the open portal, and catches a cheeky Tabby slime that seemed insistent on glomping her. However, something was off.

Where was Wheatley? She knew that he usually stuck around any of the farms of hers where she grew her food, and of course the drones that were happy to have a fellow mechanical friend. He was always somewhere in sight of whichever teleporter she had used to get places, so to not be able to see him was a surprise, but also concerning. Putting away the vac-gun Ellie sets out to find him, wondering where he’s gone off to and why. She eventually found him, and she breathed out a sigh of relief, yet something was still off. Why would he travel all the way to The Ancient Ruins? Not to mention, he seemed to be… sad, and it was tugging at Ellie’s empathy. She didn’t have a heart, after all, thanks to being more slime than human. Making sure to make noise as to not startle her friend, she sits down next to him, head tilted to the side as she glances him over. 

“Is something wrong, Wheats?” Even though she had made her presence known, it quickly becomes obvious that he had been in deep thought, judging by the fact that he did get startled. “ _ Ah-! Oh, Ellie. Sorry about that, I was just, um- _ ” She honestly thought that he was going to ramble like he always does, something she frankly enjoyed, but to her surprise and concern he instead goes quiet, as if not knowing what to say. Reaching her hands out she gently picks up her friend and holds him close, and she could swear that if it was possible, tears would’ve wetted her arms as muffled sobs escaped Wheatley. Something was bothering him, this much she could figure out, but what? Gently patting his metal shell she softly hums along to her crystals soothing tunes, wondering what else she can do to help him. “Wheatley, you know that you can talk to me.”

Despite lacking organs, Ellie swore that if she had a heart it would ache from the look Wheatley was giving her, causing her to simply hold him tighter. Something was hurting him, and not physically, that much she could tell. “ _ Ellie… There’s a reason that I was out in space. I-I did some terrible things, things that I can’t take back, no matter how hard I wish for it and I- _ ” Wheatley goes quiet for a moment, and Ellie thought she could  _ feel _ him taking a shuddering breath, even though it’s physically impossible for him to do so. Something dark must be going through his mind, if it’s so hard for him to open up, particularly with how he seemed to almost not want to look at her while speaking. She wasn’t sure what hurt more, the pain he’s clearly in, or that whatever causes it makes him fear to face her.

_ I must be strong _

_ And carry on _

_ 'Cause I know I don't belong _

_ Here in heaven _

“ _ I  _ **_know_ ** _ that I’m a terrible person. _ ” Ellie was silent as she processed the story he had just told her, watching Wheatley simply refusing to look her in the eye, quivering even though he tries not to. She recognizes the feeling, and she feels a familiar lump in her throat form, realizing that despite literally being from different worlds and being very different people, they’re so similar. The diming of her colors may have sparked alarm in Wheatley at first, at least until she held him so tight it was as if she was trying to merge the two of them. “Wheatley, please, you’re not a terrible person. Listen to me, I  _ know _ how terrible guilt is, I know the feeling of the past crushing you until you can’t breathe, the dark strings of self-loathing. I know it because I’m there too.” The hybrid felt her friend shift, and her eye had begun to leak tears, the admissions of her friend reminding her so much of things she desperately wants to forget. Wheatley looks like he’d have tears too if he could even make them, to begin with, and she could understand the shocked confusion in his gaze.

“ _ You? But you’re so happy, so cheery… and what happened to your colors?! _ ” Ellie could only smile sadly, the tunes of her crystals taking on a sad tone as well. “It’s a mask, Wheats. Yes, I am cheery most of the time, and I am indeed colorful… But I wasn’t always like that. I wasn’t always… me.” It was a long story, and even she didn’t remember all the details as muddled together as they were, but she was going to do her damnedest to tell him everything.

“Before me, there was a woman named _ Ellenor Alexandra Crosby _ . She was the owner of the ranch, and she had herself a favorite slime, her trusty companion. It was a Hunter Crystal Largo that she had nicknamed  _ Crow _ , and they worked well together in keeping order on the ranch. Ellenor was happy, and Crow made sure that she didn’t forget to take care of herself. Whenever she got excited, she tended to neglect herself. Ellenor made friends with the other ranchers, and she became well-known among them as a reliable, kind friend, happy to help out whenever they needed it, whether it was delivering materials they needed or simply lending a sympathetic ear.”

“It didn’t last forever. though. Way out in The Moss Blanket, a Tarr outbreak had started. Ellenor hadn’t been there for several weeks, and the water turrets had malfunctioned and deactivated during her absence, leaving nothing to prevent the spread. You’ve seen the Tarrs, how they spread by dividing like cells. In just 2 days it had spread to the gates of the ranch, and while Ellenor had plenty of water turrets to help, there were so many Tarrs. Crow tried to help out the best they could, but… Crow was devoured by one of the many Tarrs. With the new mass, the responsible Tarr divided, and the newly formed leaped at Ellenor while she was distracted..” Breath hitching, Ellie quickly stops to try and regain some form of control over her voice, cheek and neck stained white from tears while her ears were dropped.

  
  


_ Time can bring you down _

_ Time can bend your knees _

_ Time can break your heart _

_ Have you begging please, begging please _

  
  
  


“It hurts so much to remember that… The gnawing hunger that couldn’t be sated, the fear, panic, and pain from Ellenor before her life was snuffed out. It’s the things I remember more clearly from my past. I didn’t even know her full name until I found her ownership papers while cleaning up around the house. I want to be able to talk to her, to tell her I’m sorry, but I can’t. She’s part of who I am now, and nothing will change it.” Her voice breaking, she gives up on trying to say anything more and simply sobs into her hands, tail having come to curl around Wheatley to keep him from rolling off her lap. Reliving the memories hurt so much, it felt like she was back where it all started, and it felt like something was constricting her chest again.

“ _ Ellie… I’m so sorry, Ellie. Please believe me when I say this, but I’ll be here for you. You’ve done so much for me, and it’s only right. I’ll be your friend if you’ll let me. _ ” Ellie couldn’t stop crying, but now there was a smile appearing on her face. “You’ll always be my friend, Wheatley. I know it’s hard to believe, but you deserve a second chance. Together, we’ll get through this. And we’ll show the world that we can still be happy, despite our pasts.” She saw his blue eye brighten up, and as if on cue, her colors made their return. 

“ _ Together. Yes, we’ll get through this. And Ellie? ...Thank you. _ ” Feeling lighter, and reluctant to let go of her dear friend, she gets back up onto her feet with Wheatley in her arms and sets a course back home. Despite the pain of reliving the past, she’s never felt freer. Ellie hoped that Wheatley felt that way too, and that night as she went to bed, she was cuddled in close to her best friend, smiling as her crystals hummed a soft, happy tune.

  
  
  
  
  


_ Beyond the door _

_ There's peace I'm sure _

_ And I know there'll be no more _

_ Tears in heaven _


End file.
